Sister Lúcia dos Santos

In order to shield her from public curiosity and to protect her, the Bishop of Leiria, Mgr José Alves Correia da Silva, decided in 1921 to remove her from Fatima. Lúcia then entered the Vilar College in Porto, run by the Sisters of Saint Dorothy. To preserve her anonymity, she took the name Maria das Dores (Mary of Sorrows).

On October 24, 1925, she entered as a postulant with the Sisters of Saint Dorothy in Tui, Spain. She made her temporary vows there on October 3, 1928, and her perpetual vows on October 3, 1934. It was during this period that she received new spiritual revelations, notably at Pontevedra (1925-1926) concerning the reparatory devotion of the First Saturdays, and at Tui (1929) concerning the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

At the request of her bishop, Lúcia wrote four autobiographical documents between 1935 and 1941 known as the Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, detailing the lives of her cousins and the apparitions of Fatima. On January 3, 1944, she wrote down the third part of the secret (the "Third Secret"), which she handed over in a sealed envelope to her bishop, who would then transmit it to the Holy See.

Desiring to lead a more intense and secluded contemplative life, she obtained authorization from Pope Pius XII to leave the Sisters of Saint Dorothy to enter the Carmel. On March 25, 1948, she joined the Carmel of Saint Teresa in Coimbra, Portugal. She made her solemn vows there on May 31, 1949, under the name Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart. She spent the rest of her life within the enclosure of the monastery, dividing her time between prayer, manual labor, and an immense spiritual correspondence with the faithful and prelates from all over the world. She left her enclosure exceptionally to meet the sovereign pontiffs visiting Fatima: Paul VI in 1967, and John Paul II in 1982, 1991, and 2000.

Sister Lúcia passed away peacefully at the Carmel of Coimbra on February 13, 2005, at the age of 97. In 2006, her remains were transferred to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima, where she now rests alongside her cousins Francisco and Jacinta.

Sister Lúcia's reputation for holiness was established during her lifetime due to her absolute fidelity to the mission received from the Virgin Mary, her constant humility, and her filial obedience to the Church. Although she was a witness to extraordinary events, she always strove to live an ordinary and hidden monastic life.

Shortly after her death in 2005, many of the faithful requested the opening of her cause for canonization. In 2008, derogating from the canonical rule that imposes a five-year waiting period after death, Pope Benedict XVI granted a dispensation so that the process could begin immediately. The diocesan phase of the inquiry officially opened on April 30, 2008, in the Diocese of Coimbra. During this phase, which concluded on February 13, 2017, more than 15,000 letters, testimonies, and historical documents were collected and analyzed by the experts of the postulation.

After the closure of the diocesan inquiry, all documents were transmitted to Rome, to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, for the preparation of the Positio. On June 22, 2023, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her theological and cardinal virtues, officially declaring her "venerable." To this day, Sister Lúcia is neither beatified nor canonized. For her beatification to be pronounced, the Church must officially examine and approve a miracle attributed to her intercession. Although several reports of graces obtained through her intercession have been reported to the postulation, no miracle has yet been officially recognized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Sister Lucia's spirituality is inseparable from the message of Fatima. It rests on three fundamental pillars: reparatory devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the daily recitation of the Rosary for world peace, and the daily offering of personal sacrifices in reparation for sins and for the conversion of sinners. Her legacy lies primarily in her writings, which helped to structure and disseminate the theology of Fatima within the Catholic Church. Through her Memoirs and letters, she recalled the importance of fidelity to daily duties as a form of sacrifice pleasing to God. She remains, for millions of believers, the privileged witness of divine mercy and the maternal presence of Mary in contemporary history.